Chelsea are hiring Enzo Maresca as their new manager in the hope that he’ll be able to follow in Mikel Arteta’s footsteps, according to reports.

Chelsea look to have concluded their search for a new head coach, with Fabrizio Romano reporting that they’ve agreed to appoint Leicester City boss Enzo Maresca.

Though the deal isn’t yet official, Chelsea have reportedly reached an agreement on a five-year contract with an option to extend for a sixth, and the Blues will pay a compensation fee to promoted Leicester.

The Daily Mail report that Chelsea opted for Maresca after studying Mikel Arteta’s success at Arsenal, hoping that he will shine in the same way as the Gunners boss has.

James McNicholas adds for The Athletic that it seems “everybody wants a Mikel Arteta” this summer, with Manchester United and Chelsea seemingly hunting for a coach with a similar profile.

They all want someone young, technically and tactically minded, and ideally someone who has worked under another top manager, like Arteta did with Pep Guardiola.

Charles Watts reports that Chelsea in particular are using Arsenal as a blueprint for how to operate going forward, and how to turn their fortunes around.

It’s all a big compliment to Arteta and Arsenal, and not exactly surprising.

Chelsea and United are looking up from their sixth and eighth-place finishes at a team that only narrowly finished second with 26 or 29 more points than them.

For all their money spent, Chelsea’s only hope of European football next season is to win their Europa Conference League qualifiers in August. They need to find someone who can fashion their billion-pound squad into something functional.